THE Trip - Day 30 (Timing)

A leisurely day of driving.  We had stopped after breakfast at the Newberry National Volcanic Monument and looked at a landscape that could have been constructed for a Martian sci-fi film …harsh and jagged; yet warm in color.   

 

 Our lunch at the Crater Lake Lodge overlooked a vista with a different type of landscape.  The view was again filled with sharp rocks, but inside of the volcanic crater was the deepest lake in the U.S. and filled with the clearest blue water.

9/30 --- 5 p.m.  Pulled into the hotel parking lot in Ashland, OR, just 24 hours after having wine and appetizers at the lovely home of a new acquaintance in Bend, OR.   As my friend, Patricia, learned of our trip through the Northwest, she set up an email introduction with her friends, Alicia and John.  They are former So Cal residents who’ve transitioned during their retirement to a busy outdoor lifestyle in an area that offers mountains for hiking and skiing, lakes and rivers for kayak trips, less crowded space for biking and walking, and clear sunny skies with four distinct seasons. 

Then things started to change….

9/30 --- 5:10 p.m.  Dennis returned from registering us and announced that there were tickets available at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for ‘Henry V’ at 8 p.m.  “Did I want to go?”

9/30 --- 5:15 p.m.  Called from the car for reservations for two tickets to be collected at Will Call no later than 30 minutes before the show.

9/30 --- 5:30 p.m.  Carried the luggage (and junk) to the room and unpacked (more like dumped it all on floor).

9/30 --- 6:00 p.m.  Showered, changed clothes (it’s 88 degrees outside; but the play is open-air and forecast for mid-low 50’s), and out the door.

9/30 --- 6:20 p.m.  Found parking very near the Elizabethan Theater (much too easy based on my LA experience…and way too cheap at $3 for the evening).

9/30 --- 6:30 p.m.  Picked up the tickets.

9/30 --- 6:45 p.m.  Found a delightful small restaurant two blocks from Theater while walking into center of town.  Got the next to last table.

9/30 --- 7:30 p.m.  Headed back to the Theater.

9/30 --- 7:40 p.m.  Seated and looking at the stage directly ahead of us and stars starting to show up in the sky above.  Breathed a huge sigh of relief at making it to the play with time to spare.

9/30 --- 8:00 p.m.  Play started and I’m transported to England of old....delightful.